1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a system, method and apparatus for use in monitoring or controlling Internet access. In particular, the present invention relates to a system, method and apparatus for categorizing Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) during Internet access.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Internet is a global interconnection of computers and computer networks. One of the great benefits of the Internet is that many millions of users have access to shared information of the World Wide Web, whereby pages of text and graphic information in HTML, or other formats are transmitted by a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Each web page has a unique address, known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The Internet and its supporting structures are discussed in detail in Requests for Comments (RFCs), available from www.faqs.org and elsewhere. Reference is made in particular to RFC760 (Internet Protocol) and RFC1738 (Uniform Resource Locators).
Although the Internet provides access to a vast amount of information, it is widely recognized that open access at all times to all forms of information is not appropriate. For example, many schools and businesses provide Internet access for their students and employees. However, the school or business is, at least in part, responsible for dissemination of information within that organization and is usually under an obligation to prevent circulation of racist, sexist or other abusive materials. This is just one example situation where there is a strong need for a measure of control over Internet access. Other examples include public spaces such as libraries or Internet cafes or public Internet kiosks. Another example is a home environment, where parents may wish to prevent their children accessing adult oriented web pages.
Prior art systems are available to address this need for monitoring or controlling access to the Internet. One example system is discussed at U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,011, which describes making a linguistic analysis of a web page on the fly before delivering the web page or selected portions thereof to a user. Other approaches include comparing a requested URL against a previously-determined list of forbidden-URLs, known as a “deny list”. However, both of these approaches require relatively large resources, i.e., a computing platform with a relatively fast processor, a large memory, and plenty of storage space such as a hard disk. The World Wide Web currently contains over 200 million websites, with tens of thousands of new sites being added each week. Each site usually contains many individual web pages. As a result, any form of filtering using “deny lists” requires relatively large storage space. Even an on the fly approach as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,011 using linguistic analysis requires a relatively large space to store objectionable words or phrases, and requires intensive processor usage in order to maintain reasonable response times.
A further problem arises in that many computer users are not technically literate. Most computer users are not computer experts and would like to be able to use their computer with a minimum of fuss or problems. Hence, it is desired to provide an apparatus, method and system for monitoring or controlling Internet access which is simple, reliable and user friendly.
A Local Area Network (LAN) is often used to connect together computers located in one building or site. In this LAN environment access to the Internet is provided though a Proxy Server, which receives and services URL requests from within the LAN by communicating with the Internet. Some of the client computers in this LAN environment may have relatively limited resources, such as a dumb terminal or diskless workstation. Another example is a Personal Digital Assistant or other handheld computing device. In one preferred aspect of the present invention it is desired to provide an apparatus, method and system for monitoring or controlling internet access which is ideally simple, fast and reliable, in this LAN environment.
Many users, particularly in a small office or home office environment (SOHO) environment, connect to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Typically, the connection is established through dedicated hardware of an Internet gateway appliance such as a modern or a router. However, there is a strong price pressure on Internet gateway appliances and a strong desire to minimize equipment specification. This means minimizing processor requirements, memory requirements, and storage requirements, all of which are directly contrary to known approaches for monitoring or controlling Internet access. In a preferred aspect of the present invention it is desired to provide an apparatus, method and system for monitoring or controlling internet access which is ideally simple, fast and reliable, when using an Internet gateway appliance.
Another emerging need relates to Internet appliances which are created to perform a specific dedicated function whilst also being connected to the Internet. One example is a web TV for displaying audiovisual signals. Such Internet appliances are generally intended for use by consumers who have little or no technical knowledge, by providing a simple and easy to use set of controls as opposed to the fully controllable interface of a regular computer. Again, most Internet appliances are designed to minimize processor, memory and storage requirements. In a preferred aspect of the present invention it is desired to provide an apparatus, method and system for monitoring or controlling internet access which is simple, fast and reliable, when using an Internet appliance.